Today, the Beijing Olympic torch relay converged with the ultimate incarnation of the Olympic spirit: Mao Zedong. According to China Daily’s website, “the second leg relay passed through Red Sun Square, Hero Road, Station Road, Mao Zedong’s Home to wrap up the relay in Mao Zedong Bronze Statue Square.” Doesn’t that just say it all? While everyone is patting China on the back for its economic and now media reforms and openness, it’s nice that they can take the time to honour a man who stood for the destruction of the most human beings in the twentieth century. Surely no one can encapsulate “Olympism” more than he.
“Olympism is a philosophy of life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and education, Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy found in effort, the educational value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles.”
Olympic Charter, Fundamental principles, paragraph 2
Ahh! That’s Mao. He was all about fundamental ethical principles, as evinced by the death toll estimates of his reign. Forget his disasterous Great Leap Forward, in which the entire nation starved during his compassionate respect for universal fundamental principles, the Cultural Revolution was where he lived and breathed it! He saw the value in education through a good example, which is why during the Cultural Revolution, he closed all schools and sent those whose lives were spared, into the countryside where they could be educated on the value of obedience. Kick ass!
That’s why it is like a miracle of the constellations that the Olympic Spirit — so deeply entrenched in every ounce of Mao Zedong’s being — can come into contact with the Olympic Torch, a symbol of universal fundamental ethical principles. It is no surprise that Sydney Olympic weightlifting champion Yang Xia, could hardly contain herself, saying, “It’s a great honor for me to carry the first torch here in the hometown of the great Chinese leader.” Too right. Some people try a lifetime and still are only responsible for a handful of deaths. Mao Zedong dared to dream and accomplished that goal. Give him the gold!
Tags: 2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing Olympic Games, Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong, Olympic Torch
July 28, 2008 at 9:06 am
Fitting, isn’t it, that this invented myth of Olympism, the torch relay, was created by the Nazis for 1936.